Correlating δ13C and δ18O in cellulose of trees

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Abstract
We measured the carbon and oxygen isotopic composition of stem cellulose of Pinus sylvestris, Picea abies, Fagus sylvatica and Fraxinus excelsior. Several sites along a transect of a small valley in Switzerland were selected which differ in soil moisture conditions. At every site, six trees per species were sampled, and a sample representing a mean value for the period from 1940 to 1990 was analysed. For all species, the mean site δ13C and δ18O of stem cellulose are related to the soil moisture availability, whereby higher isotope ratios are found at drier sites. This result is consistent with isotope fractionation models when assuming enhanced stomatal resistance (thus higher δ13C of incorporated carbon) and increased oxygen isotope enrichment in the leaf water (thus higher δ18O) at the dry sites. δ18 O‐δ13C plots reveal a linear relationship between the carbon and oxygen isotopes in cellulose. To interpret this relationship we developed an equation which combines the above‐mentioned fractionation models. An important new parameter is the degree to which the leaf water enrichment is reflected in the stem cellulose. In the combined model the slope of the δ18O‐δ13C plot is related to the sensitivity of the pi/pa of a plant to changing relative humidity.